Tuesday, March 29, 2011

The good life! Don't ask me why, but living on the water seems like an extended vacation. Not that I have ever lived on the water...close...once.....just across the street from the beach. But, what did I know. I was only 18 years old and assumed that I would always be on the beach. Ha! Thats when I didn't own a home, or pay insurance, or have kids.

So here I am, 10 miles from the ocean, not a sea gull in sight, and perfectly content. But, I can still close my eyes and dream now and then.

Friday, March 25, 2011

Did you know I am hosting a painting give-away on my Etsy sites, CarolSchiffStudio and CarolOnEdge?
Everyone who has purchased an item from either of these shops between January 1, 2011 and March 31, 2011, received a chance in the drawing for each and every item they purchased. Only one week left to go and I am getting very excited to see who the winner will be.

Yesterday, I finished the painting I am giving away, so I thought I would post it today. A scene of the Atlantic surf from the east coast of Florida. It's not too late to enter the contest. The odds of winning are very good. I am not McDonald's so there are not millions of people in this drawing.

I am also thrilled to see that I am very close to 400 followers. Wow, it was never in my imagination to think I would have that many people viewing my art and reading my blog. I so appreciate all my readers and the wonderful comments you leave. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

My friend Donna, always has something new up her sleeve, so my painting group was not really surprised when she announced that we would do "collage" at one of our gatherings. She came with tons of papers in all colors and form along with matte medium and an apple. Half way into this, I got in the groove, came home and sacrificed two of my vintage cookbooks for recipes.

In the end, I had a great time and several ideas for my next try. Fun, fun, fun!

Sunday, March 20, 2011

I lived on the island of Okinawa for four years, so the people of Japan are close to my heart. I decided to help the cause by doing a "treasury" in Etsy of items that may be purchased with 100% of the purchase price donated to Japan.

A "treasury" is simply a collection of items from different Etsy sites. So if you would like to purchase something from one of these shops just click here to see the treasury.

These are not the only shops offering 100% donation, just a sampling, so if you don't see anything you like on the link, just search on Etsy for "100% donation for Japan" and pages of items will come up.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

This has been a terrible week, with all the tragedy in Japan. It seems every morning brings more bad news. The people have conducted themselves in a calm manner, waiting in lines for 10-12 hours to get water or other necessities of life, without complaint. I don't know if I could go through the compounded disasters of loosing my family, my home and maybe my country.

I believe they have shown the whole world how strong they are and how to react in an unimaginable crisis
with dignity. I am only heartened by the many organizations that I see trying to gather help for them. We must all do whatever is possible to help.

In other news, my painting give-away on Art by Karena was a grand success and the painting is on it's way to Blayne Beacham of Atlanta, Ga. Thank you to all who participated and congratulations to Blayne. I wish I could have sent a painting to everyone.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

A few years ago I spent some time in Rome in the beautiful and ancient Campo di Fiori piazza. One morning we came to the square and found it had been turned into a farmer's market over night. This was a real farmer's market, with real farmers and produce so fresh the leaves had not had time to wilt. My camera and I were very happy and I have painted a few scenes from there.

I inserted Italian words into the painting to help me capture the flavor and excitement of the day.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Life in the big city is tough. You have to carve out your own space where ever you can find it. When I saw these two men in the New York City subway station, seemingly unaware of each other, I realized how much I enjoy the relative freedom, space, and unhurried pace of my little home town.

Of course, it all comes down to what you are accustomed to in your life.

They both seem perfectly comfortable with their situation. I would much rather be sitting at home, with my feet up, in my jams with my morning coffee and paper.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

This time of year, we all get tired of cold and dreary days and look forward to the first signs of spring. I hope this little painting will put you in a "spring frame of mind". It won't be long...I can feel it!

Sunday, March 6, 2011

This is another "fun day" project with my friend Donna. The idea was to add texture to a canvas and just start painting and see what would emerge. This is on a 6x6 stretched canvas with deep sides, so I ended by painting the sides black and then adding the words "Delight In Simple Things" across the sides and top.

It's not too late to visit Art by Karena and participate in my painting give-away. Get your name in the hat and if you win, I will ship a 4x12" painting to you absolutely free.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

California is such a beautiful place. Every time I go the word "rugged" is in my mind during the whole trip. I think the weather, the sea,the landscape, the people and the animals all seem to be larger than life. Like everyone and everything there is tough. Not to say it is a bad thing...I love it, but maybe it is a little tougher there than on the east coast where everything is pink and teal and the waves are 2 feet instead of 20.
Of couse my time has been in Northern California, never got south of Carmel, so maybe it weenie's out as you go south.

This scene is from an image by Shelley Smart. If you have not visited her blog "A Year at the Beach" you must go. She is a wonderful artist and photographer and did a project of photographing the beach every day for a year. I hope she approves of this painting.

I just want to remind everyone that when you purchase an item from either of my Etsy sites between now and March 31, 2011, you will be entered in my painting give-away. So hop on over to CarolSchiffStudio or CarolOnEdge and purchase a painting. I have several choices in my "make me an offer" section.......

and then hop on over to Art by Karena where you can get a chance on winning this painting just by following her instructions on the bottom of my interview.